GOF: The Hexslinger's Tale - Reloaded
by kolchaksghost
Summary: Rewrite. Dumbles uses a summoning ritual to bring back a Harry Potter born and raised in the Deadlands. Wizarding Britain is about to Behold a steel horse, upon it road the Marauder's Heir and chaos followed with him. Harem fic HP/ML/FD/?, LE/SB. M for violence, swearing and adult themes; you've been warned.
1. Prologue

**GOF: The Hexslinger's Tale – Reloaded**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Deadlands or Harry Potter; I'm just playing in their owners' sandbox._

Prologue 1: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road…

 _Potter Safe House – Godric's Hollow, Wales; New Year's Day, 1980_

James Potter and his best friend/brother-in-all-but-blood/second cousin, Sirius Black, watched as a highly hormonal and extremely pissed off Lily Black nee La Croix threw yet another item enchanted with Monitoring Charms (that particular object being a vase) against the nearest wall while swearing loudly in French. The vase had been the fifth such item found and drove home the point the irate witch had been trying to get the two wizards to see for the past three months. A point that was horrific in its implications; that their former Headmaster and current leader of the fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort – Albus Dumbledore – wanted the Potter's dead. Yet another sacrifice on the altar of his self-professed Greater Good.

As the two men let their female companion vent her justifiable ire, a stray thought made them snort almost simultaneously because it was the funniest part of the fucked up situation they all found themselves in. In a prank of epic proportions, all of Wizarding Britain in general – and a certain ancient whiskered lemon drop sucking pedophilic goat raping bastard specifically – believed that the former Lily La Croix was the muggleborn Lily Evans. In addition, they believed that James and Lily were married and expecting a child.

In truth, the pair was actually half-siblings; Fleamont Potter (their father) had been traveling through Europe visiting various properties and business interest his family had on the Continent when the Second World War broke out in 1939. Trapped behind enemy lines, he'd nearly been caught by the Dark Lord Grindlewald's Magi SS on several occasions. One such encounter left him wounded but before the Nazi wizards had a chance to finish the job, Fleamont was rescued by members of the Veela Colony of Northern Europe. The Colony was in the process of evacuating when their advance scouts saw the fighting and interceded. For healing and delivering the wizard to the closest cell of the Magical Resistance, the price demanded was that the then Potter Heir sleep with the daughter of the colony's current Matriarch.

What red blooded male (magical or not) was going to turn down a night of intense passion with a living embodiment of fire and sexuality?

Fleamont Potter made it safely back to Britain and eventually forgot about the amorous encounter as the situation on the home front took precedent. Wizarding Britain was bound and determined to bury their collective heads in the sand about the war that raged on the other side of the Chanel. While his father – Lord Charlus Potter – argued in the Wizengamut that something needed to be done about Grindlewald, the younger Potter decided to take a more proactive approach and joined the RAF as a pilot. By the end of the War, Fleamont was a highly decorated Flight Captain. Among the awards on the mundane side were the Victoria Cross and a Knighthood; on the magical side – an Order of Merlin, Second Class.

His former encounter with the Veela would resurface just over two decades later. Lord Fleamont Potter, his wife Lady Dorea Potter nee Black and their son/heir – James – were summoned to Gringott's Bank for an emergency meeting with their Account Manager. The family was introduced to Isobel Quinn nee La Croix and eleven year old Lily, Fleamont's daughter. A quick Inheritance Test and story later, all the males – goblin and human – were shocked when the two older women merely sized each other up then embraced as sisters before sitting off to the side where they plotted out the best way to keep Lily protected from Noble and Most Ancient House of Potters many political enemies.

*HTR*

"That's it, I've had enough. Fuck Dumbledore! Fuck those bloody inbred pureblood twats that are hell bent on committing genocide! This world can burn for all I care; the only thing that matters is you, me, Sirius and our unborn child. I've had everything to perform the ritual needed to send us to my home stashed away but held off on doing it because I'd hoped we'd be able to make a difference and stop the war from dragging on. Between Dumbledore, Voldemort and the Ministry I've come to understand that the wizarding world here and a large portion of Europe is doomed. It's time to cut our losses and get out while we still can. I refuse to bring a child into this nightmare," Lily finally decreed as the violent part of her temper calmed.

Both James and her secret husband, Sirius, felt a wave of guilt at her outburst. They knew that Veela witch had gathered all the necessary components for the Portal Ritual back in their fifth year at Hogwarts just after the elder Potter's had been killed by Death Eaters while coming out of Gringott's. Originally, the boys had asked her to wait because they wanted revenge for the murders. But as they all got dragged further into the war effort after graduation they refused to consider leaving when there was a chance of ending the so-called Blood War once and for all.

Now, the two wizards felt like idiots for not getting the bloody hell out of the country before things had gotten as bad as they were currently.

"You're right love. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. I need to go see my grandfather, Arcturus, as he became the Head of House again after my father died last week. He will need to know our plans and how to reach me; plus there is some House business we need to take care of before I disappear. Then I'll swing by my decoy flat to pack what little there. It shouldn't take too long but be ready to do the ritual at noon tomorrow. In the meantime, you and Prongs need to booby trap this place to hell and back," Sirius commented before apparating out.

*HTR*

 _Hogsmead Village – Scotland; Friday, January 2, 1980 – 9 am_

Sirius Black was finishing up the last of his packing when the wards around his flat alerted him to a couple of unwanted visitors. He sighed as he came to understand that he wasn't going to be able to go with Prongs and Lily-flower but at least he was going to keep his guests too busy to stop them from making a clean getaway. With the grace expected from the heir of one of the Old Families, he glided into the living room to greet the unwelcome arrivals but not before he sent off a Patronus message to his wife and cousin.

 _Potter Safe House_

Lily and James where in the process of putting shrunken trunks into the witch's silk and lace drawstring purse when the spectral canine form of a Grim ran through the front wall and spoke in Sirius' voice.

"Lily-flower! Prongs! After my meet with old Arcturus last night, I swung by Gringott's and cleared out my personal vault. I ran into Mooney as I was leaving and I guess he noticed something because he just showed up at the flat with Dumbledore. You need to do the ritual now; I'll keep them busy here. I'm sorry, Lily; I love you."

The siblings shared a tearful but resolute look and a silent conviction passed between them – they come back at some point for their missing loved one. A half hour later, Lily completed the chant that was the final component of the ritual and James gaped as a vertical vortex of magical energy opened before his sister.

"Put this on, the trip is going to be difficult enough without you freaking out over whatever you might see along the way," Lily commented as she handed him a blindfold then proceeded to lead him by through the portal once it was tied in place.

*HTR*

Prologue: Just another Saturday night in Dodge…

 _Dodge House, Dodge City, Kansas – CSA; Saturday, June 10, 1880_

The Black River Railroad train pulled into the station just before dawn. Train yard personnel along with the train crew worked overtime to get the locomotive ready for the next leg of its journey while the passengers slept. All except the three people currently in the private car of the line's owner – Mistress of the Black Arts turned wealthy Rail Baroness – Mina Devlin. The Widow Devlin was currently riding rock hard cock of a handsome young buck while her face was buried in the sex of a soon-to-be former member of the Wichita Witches, Mina's magical enforcers and security for Black River that was magically stuck to the wall at the head of the bed. They were lost in a haze of lust and mystical energy until final orgasmic chain reaction

It started when the witch the older woman's skilled tongue pleasured came hard. Mina's orgasm hit as she continued to lap up the ambrosia that flowed from her former enforcer's nether region. With one more forceful push, the Merry Widow slammed herself down onto the member of her male lover with all her might; the head of his penis passed through her cervix and pumped several blasts of his powerful seed straight into her womb. The younger woman was released from the charm that held her in place then collapsed onto the bed in a blissful sleep. Devlin gave a small mournful moan when she rolled off her current stud and felt his still hard cock slip from inside her. Despite the physical evidence to the contrary the youth joined the other woman in sleep.

With a devilish smirk she went over to the vanity table near the bed and removed several vials that had been spelled to be unbreakable and to keep their contents fresh. Mina returned to the bed and took her sleeping paramour's still turgid length into her mouth and sucked him to an orgasm that she greedily drank down. Next, she manually manipulated that wickedly delightful muscle until each of the vials was filled with his virile essence. The vials were hidden away before she joined the couple in bed for a few hours of well-earned rest.

Morgan Lash woke up to the smell of breakfast coming from the open bedroom door. She was still exhausted and physically sore from recent activities but she wasn't going to let guilt eat away at her or her future husband that had started to stir next to her. After all the things she'd been forced to do as a Wichita Witch (most highly illegal if not amoral), Lash was free and if the price paid was nearly a week of sex between her, her intended and her now former employer then so be it.

The witch and her fiancé, "Gentleman Jim" Charles, had met with Mina while she was doing an inspection of the Black River Railroad office/holdings in Tombstone. It was originally planned for the couple to buy Morgan's freedom; to that end, Jim had brought a carpetbag with $3000.00 in gold coins bundled into smaller bags of $500. Unfortunately, the Rail Baroness had known they were coming and planned accordingly. She outright rejected the initial offer and made some not so veiled threats to both of their lives unless they came up with money. It had taken all of her persuasive skills to keep _Jim_ from blowing his cover and making a few direct threats of his own.

After a brief break for lunch – in separate restaurants – the trio returned to the negotiation table. Mina continued to drag out the process before she finally made a counter proposal. For $500 in gold coin and the younger pair willingly enter into relations with her for the duration of the train ride from Tombstone to Dodge City, Morgan would be free of any obligations or reprisals from Devlin, Black River Railroad and the Wichita Witches. Jim had angrily refused but Mina pointed out that before he and Lash got together, he'd had sex with more than a few of her Witches. Even afterward, they were known to occasionally take another woman into their bed. Knowing that they'd been outmaneuvered, the couple reluctantly accepted the terms.

*HTR*

Mina Devlin kept a triumphant expression on her face as her former traveling companions left her private car to do whatever the hell they planned next. She let out a laugh now that a potential problem had been dealt with in a way that was both pleasurable and profitable. Lash had been quickly becoming an unnecessary risk to her plan/bargain with the abomination that called himself the Cackler. If the young woman had ever learned the truth everything would've been ruined with her inevitable interference. Now that wasn't an issue anymore and not only was she $500 richer but received an even greater treasure.

The black witch closed her eyes as her left had drifted to just below her stomach were James Charles' magically powerful seed had taken root in her fertile womb. An image a young boy with his raven's wing black hair and their perfectly balances features smiled up at her as eldritch flames danced around his little fingers flashed in her mind.

' _Yes, our son will be powerful,'_ she thought as she remembered the vials of that same seed hidden away under the false bottom of one of the vanity drawers in the bedroom. Mina briefly considered using one of the vials to impregnate her three daughters if they proved worthy. That idea was quickly scrapped. While she loved them to an extent and they were becoming more like their mother every day, they were very much their father's girls as well. Inevitably, one or more would try to do away with her then kill off the others as quickly as possible in order to take over.

That would never do, her daughters needed to meet tragic ends well before they get any ideas above their station. There was nine months to plan it all out before her son was born. Thankfully, she'd discovered the darling husband had had a few illegitimate sons. The idiot had signed the paperwork to legitimize then before he was murdered but Mina had managed to hide it before the fake will that left everything to her and their daughters were read. Bewitching one of them to marry her would end speculation as the father of her newborn. There would still be a scandal but that could easily be weathered.

*HTR*

 _Long Branch Saloon; Later that night…_

No matter where you went in North America – specifically Canada and the United States – whenever you walked into a saloon you'd be able to find at least one poker game being played. And just like in every major city back East, in every prosperous cow town and boom town had one place where a certain elite class of men and women gathered in a special back room game. Unlike regular games that were all about pitting one's skills against the other people at the table for a pot of cash and getting caught cheating came with severe consequences, the cardsharps in this game weren't interested in money. When these individuals got together, the game was all about how well you cheated and – most importantly – dazzling the other players with your magic.

Now, way back in 1742, a man named Edmond Hoyle wrote a treatise – or booklet – on a card game played by the members of High Society called Whist. Mr. Hoyle was a scholar in the field of games of chance; his original treatise was followed by those for other popular card games as well as probability theory, backgammon and chess. When the original publisher of the books was going out of business, he sold their copyrights to Thomas Osborn. In a stroke of genius, he made a killing when he gathered all of Hoyle's works together and published them in an omnibus edition known the world over as _Hoyle's Book of Games_.

What most people didn't know was that old Edmond was also a scholar in another unique field – that of magic. He spent most of his early life traveling throughout Europe and the British Isles gathering together occult knowledge that had been forgotten or lost for centuries and then collated it into a more convenient format that was the basis for a modern magical discipline. He then encoded those theorems into his published works. It wasn't long before those with a similar esoteric slant discovered the hidden treasures those early treatises contained and began to study magic in earnest. With the release of the omnibus edition in 1748, Mr. Osborn unwitting sent the first true grimoire of the age out into the world and into the eager hands of would be mystics. These _Hucksters_ as they called themselves now were the magicians of the modern era.

When the door to the backroom of the Long Branch Saloon opened, the six people that were already sitting around the table – four men and two women – "Gentleman Jim" Charles walked followed by a beautiful black haired woman that was approximately the same age as the young gambler and dressed in the tell-tale outfit of the infamous Wichita Witches. She looked a little nervous at the rather cool gazes being directed at her but wasn't about to back down.

Jim called out to the room, "Good evening my dear friends it is wonderful to see y'all here. I would like to introduce you to my lovely fiancée, Miss Morgan Lash. She recently parted with employer to help make and honest man of me."

The group relaxed as they shared a laugh. They received the message that Lash was no longer associated with the Witches or their activities so no reprisals for past/current/future sins of said group would be tolerated. Within a couple of months the word would spread to the other members of their not-so-secret community.

Jim and Morgan left after only a couple of hours then headed to stables to meet up with an old friend/employee of the undercover gambler, Professor Heinrich Gestalt. They found the Mad Scientist nervously waiting for them. According to the last message the Professor sent to his boss, he'd needed to get out of Denver as quickly as possible as a team the Agency had shown up and started to ask some uncomfortably pointed questions about the German ex-patriot. He'd packed everything into special trunks that Jim had left him with Space Expansion charms on the interiors and Shrinking/Feather Light combination charms on the exteriors. Gestalt left as soon as the card deck sizes storage containers were put into one of his _horse's_ saddle bags.

Gentleman Jim Charles nodded to the nervous nelly then strode past him further into the stable and into an empty stall while removing a shrunken trunk from the pocket of his fine velvet jacket. Ten minutes later, Corporal Harlan "Harry" Black of the Texas Rangers stepped out of the stall and joined his waiting friends.

"How does it feel to put James Charles behind ya," Morgan asked after giving him a quick kiss.

"To tell the truth, I'm glad to retire him; hopefully permanently," the Ranger replied with a rueful grin then continued.

"Now, I think it's time for Rick over there to bust out the mounts because there's an old abandoned homestead 'bout 5 miles south o' here. We can reach it quickly and I'll set up some perimeter defenses before we get some shut eye. We'll head back to Louisiana at first light. Ever since were got off that train this morning, I've had a growing itch between my shoulder blades. Trouble's comin' and I don't wanna be here with comes to call."

Morgan and the newly christened Rick nodded their agreement but Trouble arrived with a vengeance. Harry doubled over as pain twisted his gut. His friends rushed over to see what was wrong but he waved them off. With shaking hands he removed a small pad of white paper and a pencil that's lead seemed to be an odd color. They watched as he scrawled a short note – Maman, they found me. They stared in shock as he tore the sheet off the pad and it ignited in green flames.

Before they had a chance to ask any more questions, a vortex of magical energy formed in the sky above the entrance to the stables. Rick had just enough time to get a firm hold on his saddle bags with one arm and one of Harry's legs with the other. Morgan latched onto her intended's free leg and the three were swept up into the vortex that closed immediately after.

 **AN: Some of you may be wondering why I decided to rewrite this story, especially when it will contain some mildly altered chunks of the original during the first few chapters. The list is actually pretty long but ultimately boil down to an ongoing series of computer crashes, real life keeping me from writing, and changing my mind on some of the aspects of the story after rereading it and wanting to incorporate some of aspects of the newer Deadlands source material into the narrative.**

 **For those of you that read the original, you will already start to see the changes. The biggest being turning Lily into James' half-sister; something I thought would playout better in the overall story. The next thing I had always intended was for Harry to have a limited harem and at least one of them being a signature character from Deadlands. One of the major problems I faced with that was trying to find out which of the female sc's to use. At first, I set my sights on Mina Devlin or one of her daughters and laid the potential foundation of that to happen.**

 **As soon as I did that I realized that in the end either Lily or her mother would pretty much wipe out the Devlin family to prevent that. The transition from classic Deadlands and Deadlands Reloaded (same setting only grafted to the much easier Savage Worlds rules) ultimately provided the perfect solution when the new signature character of Morgan Lash was introduced. I went back and forth after that on the whole harem idea. With Morgan as the Deadlands entry, I refocused on the HP universe. Again, the original idea was to always include Tonks and Fleur as the HP entrants.**

 **One reviewer of the original called me out on basically forcing the Tonks/Harry relationship, which I freely acknowledged at the time. Looking back at it now in terms of the total story arc, I realize that Tonks would never work. Not because of the Metamorphmagus thing but strictly from the standpoint that she is an early twentysomething punk rocker witch that had been raised in a mixed household in a modern world. I just can't see her roughing it out on the trail. Therefore she's out of the running but that's not to say she can't be invited for some naughty-bad-fun at some point. Fleur is still but that leaves an empty slot to fill. At the moment I'm leaning a bit toward Luna if for no other reason the with all the dangerous and strange creatures in the Deadlands 'verse, that girl would go completed bat shit crazy – in a good way – but I don't know if I can write that. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I'm taking suggestions for who the last girl should be.**


	2. Chapter 1

Ch. 1: I don't think we're in Kansas anymore…

 _Disclaimer: See the Prologue, enough said._

 _Death Chamber, Department of Mysteries – Ministry of Magic, London; June 15, 1994_

Seven people stood in a semicircle twenty feet away from the artifact known as the Veil of Death: Albus Dumbledore – Chief Warlock of the Wizengamut and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Algernon Croaker – Head of the Unspeakables, Cornelius Fudge – Minister of Magic, three Aurors – Dawlish, Yaxley and Robbards, and an aristocratic looking wizard that made sure he stood at the far end of the formation as far from the others as possible. His name was Lord Sirius Black – Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black – and the only reason he was present was to lodge yet another official protest and watch whatever fireworks happened if the fools actually succeeded in what they planned. The fact that Fudge brought Aurors made him glad that he'd taken time to notify the Head of the DMLE about what was going on so she wasn't caught flatfooted when things went bad. Hopefully, she would arrive with re-enforcements before everything went pair shaped but he wasn't going to hold his breath.

*HTR*

While Croaker, who was in the middle of the formation directly in front of the Veil, chanted the Summoning Spell, Dumbledore prayed that it worked. The past fourteen years hadn't been kind for the venerable wizard. It was true that they started out exactly as he'd planned; everything soon turned to bitter ashes and stayed that way.

Despite their rejection of the Prophecy, the Potters had been trapped in that cottage in Godric's Hollow as the perfect bait for Voldemort. Of course he regretted that it was necessary to sacrifice James and Lily but their child was the only one that needed to live so that he could be forged into the perfect weapon against the Dark Lord. Then there was the fact that he, along with Remus Lupen, had to physically detain the then Black Heir on two different occasions when it looked like he was going to interfere with the elder wizard's Master Plan. When the evil one attacked the Potter's on Halloween he just knew that plan was working perfectly. Unfortunately, he hadn't planned on anyone throwing a spanner into the works.

The moment his monitor on the wards around the Potter's cottage showed they'd been breached Albus called in some favors and had an emergency session of the Wizengamut called. He showed up teary eyed to the meeting and told the assembly about the attack on the Potter's. Then he weaved for them the myth of the Boy-Who-Lived. After that, well he moved for the Potter Will to be sealed in the interest of security. That was when things started to go very wrong.

Lord Arcturus Black arrived with his damnable grandson/heir in tow. Before the Hogwarts Headmaster even thought about calling for the Aurors to arrest the younger Black for the betrayal of the Potter's, Lord Black demanded they come forth with some Veritaserum to prove his Heir hadn't been the Secret Keeper of the Fidelius Charm on the Potter safe house; which was quickly proven and an arrest warrant issued for the immediate capture of Peter Pettigrew.

Next, a Gringotts Emissary arrived who all but laughed in their faces when the Wizengamut ordered the Potter Wills sealed. The little beast reminded them that anything involving Inheritance was the domain of the Goblin Nation per treaty and if they ever attempted to do something similar in the future charges of Attempted Line Theft would be filed with the World Wizarding Court. Before the creature left it admitted that the Potter's had survived the attack and had relocated to a more secure location so there was no reason to probate a will let alone seal one.

It had taken a lot of fast talking and burning a quite a few of his ever dwindling cache of political favors but Dumbledore managed to spin the situation to his favor. While he kept a tight hold on his positions as Headmaster and Chief Warlock but only held onto his recently elected position of Supreme Mugwump by the skin of his teeth.

Dumbledore learned much later that his rise to the top spot in the ICW hadn't been through any manipulations on his part but a calculated action of the international body to bring Wizarding Britain to heel at last. The British purebloods had long ignored the numerous laws passed by the ICW that went against their personal beliefs. In fact, the only pieces of ICW legislation that Britain signed were the Charter of Confederation that founded it, the International Statute of Secrecy, the International Edicts for the Standardization and Quality of Education (and the department created to enforce them) and the creation of the World Wizarding Court. The other magical nations felt it was time to force the issue.

From the very first Conclave Dumbledore called to order, the other representatives started to demand official sanctions against Wizarding Britain for non-compliance to International Law and various other charges. As both the Supreme Mugwump and the British Ambassador tried to deflect the accusations, the Australian Ambassador – backed America and Canada – offered up an alternative that gave the others pause. The Honorable Ms. Cooke's suggestion was that full audit is performed on the British Ministry of Magic and Wizengamut's records with the full support of the Queen and her non-magical government. If the results of that investigation prove that Wizarding Britain violated International Law then criminal charges would be filed with the World Wizarding Court and Britain would become an ICW Protectorate until such time as a new government could be elected and trained at the request of Queen Elizabeth II. Needless to say the motion passed much to the Supreme Mugwump and British Ambassador's protests.

The only think that kept it from being the colossal disaster it was were the century and a half to dirt and debts Dumbledore had collected and two massive natural disasters. Unfortunately, his continued stonewalling of the audit using the _Voldemort's spies destroyed some files and made a mess of the rest_ excuse wasn't working like it used to. On top of that, with all the brouhaha over what had happened at Hogwarts the past few years and continued inability to track down the missing Potter family meant that the only way for self-styled Living Legend to survive the mounting political tsunami was for the Summoning Charm he arranged to have done bring back Harry Potter.

It was the ancient manipulator's belief that the return of the Boy-Who-Lived (without his meddling parents and safely under his thumb) was going to be enough of a distraction at home and abroad that the ICW audit would be forgotten; at least for a few more years. After that, the plan was going to finally come to fruition thus nothing else would matter.

*HTR*

Albus re-focused his attention on the Veil of Death as the chanting came to an end. In just a few moments his world would be put to right – just as his vision dictated. He and the others tensed as the Veil rippled outward followed by a pulse of magic and thee bodies – two male, one female – fell out of the stone archway of the artifact onto the floor. Outside of the Victorian style of their clothing and one appeared to be wearing some kind of uniform, the only think that could be discerned was that one man's hair was raven black, the other's was dirty blonde and the woman's was hair was as black as the first man's. Other than that it was impossible to tell who they were.

"Wands out, we don't know who these people are and they might be dangerous," Fudge told the Aurors while Sirius shook his head in disbelief at their stupidity. Madam Bones still hadn't arrived and he already knew how things were going to play out.

"Well now Hoss, you'd be right about us being dangerous but you should've thought of that before you decided to play with that unprovoked attack; now it's too late, y'all had your chance. It's my deal now," the prone uniformed man commented with the pronounced drawl found in the Southern United States but flavored with a hint of French.

The stranger sprung up on a knee then thrust out his arms, palms forward. In each of his hands was a glowing deck of cards held between his thumbs and middle fingers. Before the Aurors had a chance to react, he pinched the digits together and sent the cards flying in a magically created whirlwind. Some of the projectiles cut while others exploded in blinding flashes of light; either way, their effects provided enough distraction for the summoned trio to get to their feet. While the others were otherwise occupied, the uniformed arrival's left hand dropped to the pistol at his hip at the same time the blonde man scrambled out of the way of the coming fight and started to rummage through the strange double bag draped over one arm. Meanwhile, the darkly garbed woman stepped slightly back to the side of the black haired man; her eyes swept over their opponents.

Unfortunately, Yaxley was the first Auror to recover and shouted out the Killing Curse. Before the incantation was halfway completed, Mr. Uniform drew his piston then fanned the hammer. Six loud bangs echoed through the Death Chamber as an equal number of holes erupted in a tight cluster dead center of the moronic Auror's chest.

Almost all eyes were wide with shock as the dead body seemed to take hours to hit the stone floor. Sirius kept his eyes on the gunman so he was the only one among the British wizards that saw him continue to hold back the firearm's hammer with the thumb of the hand that gripped it while his free hand spun its cylinder. It glowed as it rotated and there was little doubt that when it stopped the recently emptied weapon was once more loaded and ready for action.

Dumbledore knew he needed to get control of the situation before it blew up further. But that would only happen once the black haired attacker was subdued. The familiar weight of the Elder Wand dropped into his right hand (his forgotten left hand held some kind of envelope). What he never even considered was that either of the remaining visitors could possibly be a threat. A mistake the Merlin wannabe was about to regret.

The woman's eyes landed on Rip Van Dumbass' form just he summoned his wand. With the speed of a striking rattlesnake, her hand flew to her hip then lashed out with whip that crackled with mystical energy. Dumbledore's first clue something was horribly wrong was when something wrapped around his right wrist then jerked it to the side. Pain lanced through his body when the hand was burned off then thrown – wand and all – into the air while the obvious witch tracked its progress. She thrust out her other hand and a blast of pure purple tinged energy shot out. It hit the disembodied hand and wand then exploded in a concussive blast that knocked everyone in the chamber on their collective asses.

*HTR*

From arrival to chaos had taken less than minute. Alarms started blaring throughout the Ministry of Magic as soon as the first spell was cast. Madam Bones and the Rapid Response Team that had already been headed toward the Death Chamber ran the rest of the way. They arrived just after the blast. The two Field Healers on the team did a fast threat assessment of the room then rushed to the two bleeding bodies.

"Would somebody please tell what in the bloody name of Merlin happened here," Amelia Bones demanded as she and the rest of her people entered the room. The tension level in the room went up a couple of degrees as the gun wielding stranger trained his weapon on them. She barely registered the sound of more people arriving behind her as the bulk of her focus was on the more immediate threat.

"STAND DOWN, CORPORAL," a gruff male voice from behind her shouted out with a noticeable accent. The identified Corporal instantly holstered the weapon and snapped to attention. His companions moved to his side then adopted relaxed postures.

To prove that Murphy still wasn't through messing with everyone, Fudge was the first one of the original known occupants to recover.

"I'll tell you what happened, Amelia; after the Ministry went through the expensive process of attempting to rescue Harry Potter after all these years, this muggle ruffian – that was accidentally brought here – savagely attacked us without provocation and killed poor Dawlish there and that Dark Witch maimed Dumbledore. I demand they all be thrown in Azkaban at once," the idiotic politician demanded red faced.

"I'm Dawlish, that was Yaxley," an irritated voice stated at the same time the Field Healer examining the body cried, "He has the Dark Mark!"

Everyone that understood that remark stopped for a fraction of a second the Amelia turned to the man on her left. With an authoritative voice she started to issue orders.

"Rufus, take half the team and help Field Healer Carver move the body to an empty holding cell until a full examination can be arranged. Make sure to seal the room so nobody can enter without me present. Then use the _Special Kit_ to access Yaxley's floo and raid his house. I want everything bagged and tagged. (She turned to the remaining two Aurors from Fudge's detail) Dawlish and Robbards look well enough to limp down to the Infirmary; do it, once you two are cleared, stop by the Department to give your statements they consider yourselves on a forty-eight hour leave."

"Now see here, Amelia, you will do as I told you to! There is no need to raids on upstanding Ministry employees. If you don't follow my orders then I'll fire you," Fudge blustered and his face reached a purplish state.

"Actually, Cornelius, you and Dumbledore at the very least are guilty of performing an illegal Summoning Ritual and three counts of Kidnapping American Magicals that were the end result," a voice the aforementioned wizard, Amelia and Sirius recognized as that of the Magical Ambassador for the United States – Derrick Langford.

The Minister of Magic paled at the words and visibly wilted. Dumbledore, who cradled a right arm that ended in a bandaged stump in his left and still appeared to be in mild shock, was about to respond but Croaker beat him to the punch.

"I want it noted for the record that Albus approached a young Unspeakable that had only just completed their training with some cock and bull story about needing a Summoning Ritual to be done in order to rescue Harry Potter. Naturally, I fired the twit then ended up going to the meeting where the plans for the ritual were to be finalized. Fudge and Lord Black were also present.

"Black was already vehemently protesting against the idea but neither Albus nor Cornelius were about to budge on the issue. The esteemed Chief Warlock looked surprised at my arrival and I only agreed to do the damn thing after the two stubborn fools made Wizard Oaths that they accepted full responsibility for the Summoning and everything that resulted from it," the Head of the Unspeakables stated with mild irritation.

No one was able to comment on that due to Albus interjecting, "Derrick, I can assure you that this was all a terrible misunderstanding. I have been trying to locate the missing Potter family since that tragic night back in 1981. Not even Fawkes could find them; for a phoenix to be unable to find anyone then they must be hidden behind the blackest of wards that I cannot fathom. So I naturally assumed that James and Lily had been killed and their son kidnapped by unknown Dark Wizards or Witches."

Yet again, the scene degenerated into chaos as fireballs flew at the aging mystic followed by a crimson haired blur that focused into a pissed off Lily Potter.

" _ **Misunderstaning!? A misunderstanding by its definition implies something unintentional or accidental. Everything that you have done to House Black and House Potter – from telling James and I about that fucked up prophecy that we freely rejected and everything that came from that up to your actions today – have been deliberate and calculated attack against our families to further your own ends. If you think that I'll let you try to manipulate your way out of being punished for your criminal actions then you're senile on top of being a lying, thieving, scheming, goat fucking bastard,"**_ the angry mother screamed in a weird dialect of French.

Sirius proved just how much of a Gryffindor he still was when he risked life and limb to pull the furious livewire into a passionate kiss. She melted into the kiss after a millisecond's hesitation. The pair eventually ended the lip lock and rested their foreheads together while each gazed into the other's eyes.

The vain hope that the resultant shock that followed the rather intimate reunion being witnessed was going to last such occurrence was shot to hell when the one time gunmen chose that exact moment to remind everyone of his presence.

"While those two are makin' moon eyes at each other, can somebody – for the love of all that's sacred – tell me why the dress wearin' fossil thinks that I was kidnapped or that my mother and Uncle James were married," he inquired with his distinctive Southern drawl.

"Corporal Black, I promise you that that question and many others will be answered to everyone's mutual satisfaction but that discussion should be held somewhere more appropriate – like my office at the Embassy. Your friends, mother, Lord Black, Madame Bones and a small detail of her most trusted Aurors are also invited but first I have some official business to finish up with here," Ambassador Langford replied then turned his attention on the wounded Chief Warlock as the temperature seemed to drop from the room.

"You really humped the crup with this stunt, Albus. The only reason my group and I arrived after Amelia and her lot was because I've spent the past three hours in two different emergency meetings. The first was with Lady Black here before the World Wizarding Court where I personally filed a multitude of charges against your manipulative ass. In addition to the ones I mentioned earlier, two counts of Attempted Line Theft against the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Potter and Black were among the highlights. Of course the Court could care less that both line theft charges involved the same person (he waved a hand in Harry's direction).

"The Court made an initial ruling that you were to be stripped of your Supreme Mugwump position pending a full criminal investigation. Unfortunately, thanks to that damnable Tournament you had reinstated, you are bound by magical contract until it's over. So instead of rotting in a cell in the deepest hole that could be found until your trial, you placed in two pairs of Magical Suppression Cuffs – wrists and ankles – then remanded to house arrest at Hogwarts for the duration of the coming school year. The Deputy Headmistress will assume all of your duties outside of those involving the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

"The second meeting we attended was with the Prime Minister and Her Majesty, the Queen. To say that the PM was pissed and the Old Girl was not amused would be an understatement. They knew that it would be years before any official investigation could be concluded and the guilty parties face trial. Her Majesty opted for a preemptive strike instead. (He pulled a folded document from his inner jacket pocket, unfolded it and showed everyone it bore the Royal Seal)

"I have the distinct pleasure of informing you that by Royal Decree, Queen Elizabeth II declares that _**Her**_ Ministry for Magic and _**Her**_ Wizengamut are hereby disbanded for violations of the Glastonbury Accords. _**Her**_ former magical realm and its subjects are to become a Protectorate of the International Confederation of Wizards until such time as those subjects can be seamlessly integrated into the greater population of the United Kingdom. The only former Ministry Departments that will continue to function in their regular capacities will be the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Unspeakables – the former being brought under the joint aegis of MI-5 and MI-6 and the later already working under the same.

"Furthermore, Her Majesty demands that the former Lords and Ladies of the now defunct Wizengamut will meet in Courtroom 10 of this building in one week to be questioned under both Veritaserum and Truth Ward then swear their Houses on their collective lives and Family Magic to remain loyal and faithful to the Crown and its rightful government until the end of their days. The former Ministry employees will do the same the next day. The remaining magical subjects have until September 1st to present themselves to the DMLE to give their Oaths.

"After the coming school year, Hogwarts will be closed permanently and the students reassigned to the UK's various magical day schools. The castle may be reopened as a National Landmark at a later date but the Queen is of the opinion that Wizarding Britain unworthy of the rich heritage it squandered and wants to leave it up to her descendants to make the final decision once the Purebloods join the dinosaurs in extinction.

"The ICW will try to get her to gradually change that stance but it will still take years. Now, a seven companies worth of the Confederation's Auror Corps had been systematically clearing and sealing each department since our arrival so I suggest that those of us headed to my office head that way while a detachment of Aurors secure Fudge in a holding cell and escort Albus back to Hogwarts."

At her nod, all but two of the remaining members of Amelia's team did just that. Once the shell shocked prisoners were lead out with Croaker following to ensure Dumbledore wasn't going to cause problems, the rest moved to the closest available floo.

 **AN: I'm not entirely thrilled with where I ended this chapter but considering that I wrote this and the double prologue together and I work the graveyard shift so I need to get to sleep, I can live with it.**

 **Some of you are no doubt wondering about my other stories so here is a status update/statement of intent – I will be trying to update on a regular basis but I will no longer split my focus between multiple stories. From now on I will work on only one story at a time until it is completed. That doesn't mean I don't have ideas for more stories, just that I'm not going to let them distract me.**

 **The following stories will be getting the rewrite treatment in no particular order: Union Jack, Lost Family and Unchained. Midshipman Potter might get a slight revamp but that's about it.**

 **Mini Rant in regards to Lost Girl: I loved the first two seasons of that show and while I thought season three was a bit weak, they all provided inspiration for writing Lost Family. That inspiration pretty much died on the vine with how badly season four sucked as did the final season (though I did like the whole Bo is Hades' kid thing). Then the Series Finale couldn't have been more fucked if the writers turned the entire thing into a massive dream sequence/delusion with Bo and Kenzi being mental patients and the rest of the cast either fellow inmates or staff. When I do the rewrite I will ignore just about everything past season three and plan on killing Doctor Lauren off as quickly as possible**

 **Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. Please consider my unfinished Twilight fics abandoned/put up for adoption as I will never be going back to them.**


	3. Chapter 2

Ch. 2: Interlude – All the World's a Stage…

 _Disclaimer: See Prologue_

 _Private Railcar, Black River Railroad train stopped 30 miles west of Lawrence, Kansas – CSA; June 12, 1880_

Mina Devlin had gone to sleep after an annoying day of listening to the train's Engineers try to explain how it was going to take at least a day and a half to fix whatever it was that caused the train to breakdown in the middle of nowhere. The day had been particularly sweltering and nightfall had done little to alleviate that. Tired, sweaty and annoyed, the Rail Baroness finally retired to her bed after a less than stellar meal.

The black haired witch awoke with a startled gasp in the middle of the night. She quickly became panicked as soon as Mina realized that so wasn't able to move or even speak. Her eyes darted about the darkened room frantically but found nothing out of place despite all evidence to the contrary. A mirthless feminine chuckle that still managed to sound like silver bells filled the space along with the scent of lilies. Light slowly flickered to into existence accompanied by the slight sound of bird song and running water then three figures – all ethereally beautiful females – appeared with a rippling effect at the foot of her bed.

Each of the new arrivals had honey blonde hair, crystal clear blue eyes, pointed ears and wore gossamer gowns of a fabric so sheer that it was almost see through. The central figure, obviously the leader, had an additional adornment – a wreath of lilies worn like a crown upon her head. This woman looked upon her with contempt as she silently directed one of her companions toward the vanity and the other to move to Mina's side.

"Mina Devlin, many are the sins that you committed along the path that brought you to this place but only two are what brought us here this night. The first being your pact with the one called the Cackler. Thanks to you and your _Black Circle_ of allies, the fiend will eventually succeed in finding his quarry and use them to resurrect **Her**! For centuries, the forces of Darkness gained power and influence with the goal of eventually freeing their Masters but never dared to leave the shadows to call attention to themselves. That changed just before the start of your Civil War and has accelerated at a steady pace ever since thanks in part to each of those imprisoned Masters working through human Servitors – a situation that will be made worse once **She** returns and regains her full strength.

"If left unchecked, **She** will bring Hell to Earth. The Balance (or as close to it as possible) must be maintained if your race or the planet will survive. That brings us to your latest sin – the child growing in your womb. I was given the task of keeping the Cackler from finding the girl child he sought through indirect means – the Queens have long forbidden our kind from direct interference in Mortal affairs unless the Balance was truly threatened. It is poetic that your most recent sin has provided me the means to take a more straightforward course of action.

"I really should thank you for being such an utterly predictable mortal and taking the bait – I believe that is the expression. From the confused look you are giving me, you have yet to puzzle it out. Until this moment, I was only allowed to take circumspect actions and used that mandate to my advantage. A gentle nudge here, an overheard whisper there and a minor compulsion or two and the stage was set; all I had to do was watch the play unfold as I knew it would then make my Entrance my act out the pivotal scene before the curtain falls and the Intermission begins. It was a stroke of luck, really, that allowed another of my plans to be interwoven with our current production.

"You see, Underhill is just another part of what you call the Hunting Grounds and that means that the Fae are not bound to just this reality but can move freely among all of them. It is inevitable that we take lovers from the mortals we find wherever our paths take us. On a parallel Earth to this one I found that two colonies belonging to a race of our half-mortal descendants were in danger of being destroyed by a power wizard and self-styled Dark Lord. The Matriarch of one colony hid it behind impenetrable wards in the hopes of waiting the arrogant fool out while her sister (the Matriarch of the other) wanted to find a safe haven for all of their people.

"Being only half-mortal, I was not bound by the Royal Mandate and able to directly assist. Posing as an Oracle, I gave the Matriarch a ritual that would open a safe portal through the Hunting Grounds/Underhill to this world. Others of my kind assured that they would survive and prosper once they arrived here. I only checked on them occasionally after that but imagine my delight when a brief glimpse of the future showed that the pregnant granddaughter of the original Matriarch would provide the male lead for latest play. Of course, I was once more limited to subtle manipulations. Naturally, over a millennium of existence means such things (in the end) are child's play.

"Under my skilled hands, young Harlan Black – whom you know as James Charles – followed in both his uncle's and blood-adopted grandfather's footsteps and joined the Texas Rangers. His naturally strong mystical abilities and attraction to dark aligned females provided the opportunity to advance the plot as they say. A female dhampire owed me a favor and was more than willing to engage in a sordid encounter with our Hero that saw him transferred over to the Ranger's infamous Regimental Band and a successful undercover assignment. More subconscious nudges in the right direction and Harlan and your Morgan Lash cross paths.

"I knew that our Hero's and Heroine's magic would call out to the other. How could it not as they – along with the Cackler and his prize – come from far flung root of the same Familial Tree? One ancient bloodline stretched across a multitude of parallel worlds. Magic itself would draw the children for those varied branched together whenever they crossed because they would produce powerful Champions. Not that you will remember any of this after we retrieve what we came for.

"You see, to balance **Her** rebirth and counter whatever plans **She** enacts then **He** must also returned to the lands of the living. Just as the girl child will become **Her** vessel then so to must the boy child that took root in your womb from Harlan's stolen seed become **His** vessel. But that will never happen if you are allowed to carry it to term. It is a shame that the transfer will leave you unable to have more children."

Mina tried to thrash as the implications of those last statements but it was a wasted effort. The lily crowned woman held out a hand and magic begin to swirl around the room until it entered the trapped witch. Her womb started to swell as the arcane energy forced the fetus to experience an accelerated gestation. The woman that had been standing by her side placed both hands atop Devlin's womb and began to chant. Tears flowed from her eyes while she watched as golden energy flowed from area those hands rested on her body then into the strangers. The light faded slowly and with it her belly flattened while the stranger's grew. Just as the last of the golden energy faded, the Rail Baroness felt a twisting in her nether region and blood trickled from it.

"We are done here. Let us take our leave of this place," the leader stated as her companions resumed the places they originally occupied. Unfortunately, the now distraught witch failed to notice that the third member was holding the vials of semen Mina had hidden away. She barely registered that the trio of intruders vanished and the room returned to darkness.

*HTR*

 _Unknown Location; same day_

The Lily-Crowned woman rippled into existence before a set of crumbling ruins on an island that had until minutes before been submerged beneath the waves. A baby slept peacefully cradled in her arms. Among the ruins were several stone crypts. Just as the Reckoners had their Harrowed minions and other Servitors, so too did their enemies – though the Fae, as Keepers of the Balance, rarely used them. This was a special situation and it required a special kind of individual.

Stone scraping across stone drew her attention to one of the crypts as its lid fell to the ground with a thud. A desiccated corpse dressed in chainmail armor arose from the tomb then shuffled in the woman's direction. Each step it took got steadier and it seemed to absorb the ambient magic in the air. By the time he reached her, his body looked like a more pallid version of how he'd appeared in life.

"Why hast thou disturbed my rightfully earned Eternal Rest," the undead knight rasped questioningly.

"You – and the rest of your brethren, eventually – are needed. The Bastard Brat is close to resurrecting his whore of a mother. This world has changed during your long rest; beings of great evil seek to break free of their prisons and turn this world into their vision of Hell. Their ultimate goal will be reached faster if **She** is allowed to run amok and thus destroying the Balance for all time," the woman replied.

The knight nodded while his face darkened at the news. With a gesture toward the sleeping child, he inquired, "And the child?"

"Just as a descendant will be used as the vessel for **Her** spirit, so too shall your **Liege** be reborn through this boy. You will take up the role Ector once played and raise this child – Caliburn Drake – as your own. Prepare him for what is to come. You will learn about this time while you teach him all he needs to know both of the ways of this time and those of the time you lived.

"A special place has been prepared for you where the border between Underhill and this plane is thinnest by my kin. They shall meet you on the other side of the portal I will open. We shall not meet again until it is time to give your charge his final legacy," the honey blonde explained whiled the child was placed into the knight's armored arms.

A few seconds later, a mystical vortex opened off to the knight's right. He strode through it with purpose as his tiny ward continued to sleep without a backward glance.

"Fair thee well Tristen," the woman sighed when the portal closed.

The Lily-crowned woman glided across the island until she came to a small pond. She continued to move forward until she reached the center of the pond. A gleaming sword that radiated power and authority materialized in the air before her. She wrapped the slender fingers of one hand around the hilt, brought the sword to her face in a salute, kissed the cross guard then raised the blade to the sky. Her face held a regal but serene expression as – starting with her feet – her body changed into water and merged with the pond. Had anyone witnessed the scene, the last thing that they'd see would be the extended arm followed by the shining sword dip beneath the surface.

Five minutes later, the heavy fog that had kept the island hidden was gone and the island itself had settled once more beneath the waves.

*HTR*

 _Private Railcar, Black River Railroad train stopped 30 miles west of Lawrence, Kansas – CSA; June 12, 1880_

Mina woke with a mournful cry and quickly threw herself from the bed. The pain between her thighs and the blood soaked sheets were all the clues need to realize she'd had a miscarriage. It was the residual magic in the air that bespoke the tragedy wasn't natural. Her eye swept the room until the landed out the vanity; the draw of which was open and showed signs of being searched. From there, they focused on a handmade cloth doll that wasn't there when she went to bed.

The doll had a lock of dark hair atop its simple head and a rather wicked looking need thrust into the region where the womb would be.

"The Baron will pay for this," she spat while black energy danced along her fingers.

 **AN: This chapter didn't come out the way I expected. It practically wrote itself the second my fingers hit the keyboard. I always intended for this chapter to show what was happening in the Deadlands 'verse and never planned to let Mina keep the baby conceived at that end of the prologue. My first thought was to have the Family Magic somehow alert Lily or her mother about it then have them confront Mina.**

 **I recently reread The Cackler graphic novel so that information was dancing around my brain. As the words started to form on the page, the plan was quickly scrapped for what ended up as the chapter. For what was essentially a filler chapter, I actually like how it turned out. For reader's familiar with the setting and the graphic novel, I hope they enjoyed how I handled things.**

 **AN 2: It's my goal to upload at least a chapter a week – more if the muse is strong. That being said, I hope to have the next actual chapter up by the end of this weekend. I've already started on it… twice because that chapter will cover the meeting mentioned at the end of the last chapter, the events of the Quidditch World Cup Final and setting up the Hogwarts part of the story. That brings me to the bit of House Keeping that I'm still trying to resolve; namely the third girl for Harry. The real problem is puzzling out how she will fit in for this story but the next story that will take place completely in Deadlands and the role she will be plugged into.**

 **Part of me thinks using Daphne Greengrass as a Dixie Cousins character from The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. would be funny. Another part of me says to scrap a second HP girl and either use and original DL character or one of the new DL females I found while flipping through some Deadlands Reloaded supplements.**


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